And So It Passes You By
by FinnFiona
Summary: It’s the summer after Fred’s death and George is still struggling to stay afloat. When comfort comes, it isn’t what he expected. But maybe he should have…


**Author's Note: So, I've tried something a bit different with this one—but I hope you enjoy it anyway. My eternal gratitude goes to Steph for her help and encouragement. And don't forget—please read and **_**review**_**!**

_It's just not supposed to be like this… not supposed to be… at all._

"George?!"

_Hermione…? _"Hermione?" _Wait… you answered. Why did you have to answer?_

"Where are you?"

"Up here!" _There you go again. Now she's actually going to come up here. And you really don't need her to see you like this. She'll just get worried. No one else needs to worry. About you. _

_Yep—she looks worried. And now she's sitting next to you with that concerned look that tends to melt Ron immediately these days. But you have to be stronger than that. Got it? Stronger—than—that._

"What are you doing here?" _Excellent—don't give her a chance to ask what's wrong. _

_Everything's wrong._

_Now she looks nervous—and not just about you. _"Ron and Harry got called off to some Auror business last minute—he knows he promised to come in today—but it was an emergency… so I offered to come instead."

_Great. Hermione's nice and all, but in a joke shop? _

"I know I'm probably not your first choice… but I promise I won't turn your customers away from the Puking Pastilles—even if they're first years."

_She's always been eerily good at that. It's a wonder Harry and Ron ever got away with anything—a wonder any of us did. Well, wait. Maybe we didn't._

"Yea… right." _Lame response, that. Couldn't you come up with anything better? I mean, come on, fooling her is going to take a little more… or much more. You can do that, surely. You're a Weasley twin. Or at least you were until a year ago. More than a year ago. _

_But then that's the problem, isn't it?_

"George, erm… is something wrong?"

_Bloody… fine, then._

"No, I'm fine."

"Of course you're not."

_She looks a little startled at her own boldness. She might talk that way to Ron. Harry. Ginny. Not you though._

_Well that's not true either. _

_There have been a couple times… usually when one of your siblings is hurt or hurting… she pays attention, you know. Like when your ear was blown off and Fred… Fred… he wasn't too keen on seeing you, was he? She sat with you a bit though. Made sure you were okay. _

_And you were okay—then._

_Now… well, now you're taking far too long to answer._

"George…?"

_Right. _"Had a date last night."

_Yea, that's crystal clear. Sparkling. _

"But then… that's a good thing—isn't it?"

_Should be. You think. _

_You don't remember._

"It was, once." _An honest answer—she might buy that._

"Not now?"

_Why does she always ask so many questions? No one asks you questions anymore._

"Not since…"

_How does she do that? You had no intention of saying… of admitting… You ought to give Ron more credit._

"You don't have to take anyone out now, you know. Don't… don't force yourself."

"That's what you said before…" _That slipped out. You weren't going to remind her of what you remembered. Not going to remind yourself._

"I did? When?"

"When I lost my ear…" _Well, now you're committed._ "I didn't feel like I could… didn't have the strength…"

"Oh." _That's a small voice. So she does remember._

_You felt like such a prat, not going after Fred when he was so obviously… upset. But it was your ear, for Godric's sake._

_She said it was okay, though. If you weren't ready. _

_You'd be ready now. To lose the other ear. To lose anything, if it meant you had the chance to go after him again. _

"He felt horribly too, you know."

"Who?"

_You know very well who._

"Fred… he… he wanted to be there for you."

"Well, he wasn't." _The bitterness again. Why do you go back to the bitterness? Not every time, no. But one time is too many times. He doesn't deserve that from you._

"Not at first, no. It took some… courage, for him, George. Not _everything_ came as easily for Fred, but you know that…"

_Yes, you do, of course, but… _"How do you know?" _Honestly, can't you take out the bitterness? She doesn't deserve it either._

"Because… because I talked with him, too, that night."

_She did? You didn't know that… he never said._

_Blimey, she really does take care of your family. Though… she's part of your family, too. You've known that for awhile, haven't you? _

_You're not saying anything, so she'll assume that the subject is closed. She'll store it away, though—for future reference. She always does. _

"So this date… it didn't… didn't go well?"

_That's an understatement. _"Awful." _Yea, that pretty much covers it._

"I'm sorry… but, you have… you have time."

"But I shouldn't!"

_Oh, no… now look what you've done. You're yelling and you're pacing and all of her experience with the Weasley temper doesn't seem to have prepared her for yours yet. _

_Because yours is different—not very different, but enough. It's quieter, usually. Like a wave on the ocean—you don't hear it until it breaks against the cliff. And then it comes back and breaks again. And again. And again. _

_Until you're raked against the rocks into a thousand little pieces. _

"George, I—I didn't mean…"

_Her hand is on your shoulder now. She really is brave._

"I know." _You're back on the couch, but her hand is still there—tentative._

"But you really do, you know—have time. Nothing can change what happened now—but you have to… you have to move forward, eventually. But that doesn't have to be today. Not if you don't want it to be."

_But you do want it to be… so desperately. _

_No—that's wrong. You can't move on. You can't be happy. You can't let it go. You can't. Can't. _

"I just—I always think of him. Last night… I… I can't be there. Not when he never will be. Not when I can't tell him how it was. Get tips. He was always better than me with girls…"

_That seems silly. You know it's not about girls…_

"I know it must be terribly hard… not to have someone to share things with."

_She was always good at reading between the lines, too._

"And I know it's not the same, but… but we're all here, whenever you need… whenever you want to…"

_There's something more she wants to say. You can tell._

"I know Ron… I know he'd listen, if you wanted to… to just tell him about your day, or… He may not be better than Fred with girls, but…"

_Did she just make a joke? There's that feeble smile. Yea, she did. You can reward her for that, can't you?_

"Well he got you, didn't he?" _She's smiling a little bigger now. _"But… I… I know he would—would listen, I mean—and I'm sorry if I haven't… haven't been very fair to him." _To say the least. You take him for granted, you know. You take them all for granted._

"He understands. We _all_ understand, George. Really, we do. Just don't… don't hurt yourself more by being so… hard on yourself."

_You can't help it. It's too easy._

"I know, I just… I can't…" _Great, now your throat feels like you swallowed a snitch. And your eyes are filling._

_Her hand is still at your arm. It's tightening now. Just a little._

"George?! Hermione?!"

_Now Ron, too? How much longer can you do this? Hold this up? _

_What are they asking of you?_

"We finished early! But why isn't the shop open—it's nearly—oh."

_His voice has gotten closer, but you aren't looking. You're looking at your hands. Your face is in your hands. And it's staying there._

_Her weight leaves the couch, but you can tell she's still standing right there. You don't have to see to know that she's motioning towards you. You know he's looking stricken. He doesn't think he's any good at this._

_He's better than he thinks._

_He evidently made up his mind. Or she made it up for him. Because his hand is on your shoulder now._

"George…?" _They're a lot alike._

_She's starting to back away. You reach out blindly to grab her hand._

_Where did that come from? _

_Now he's starting to shift away. You grab his hand too. Head down. Eyes closed. You can't look at yourself being this vulnerable. But you need someone. _

_Maybe not just anyone. _

_Maybe you need them both. Would that be okay?_

_Not every time, maybe. But this time. _

_This time you need them both._

"Please, please stay…" _Your voice is too shaky. Almost broken. _

"Of course."

"Sure, mate."

_They're both sitting now. They don't know what to do. _

_You don't know what to do. You can't stop shaking. It starts out small. Little ripples in the surface. But it's building._

_It's not about the date. Not really. It's about a year of feeling… feeling too much. Like this._

"Oh, George…" _Her arm is around your back when the first sob comes. His arm joins hers within a breath. You feel her hand squeeze his wrist when his tears join your own._

_He really is lucky to have her. _

_And her him, you can admit that._

_Could you be lucky to have them, too? Just once in awhile? Just when you really need… someone… it doesn't have to be…_

"We'll always be here for you, George."

_She really is good at that. He's nodding now, too—you can feel it. _

_You pull them into the fiercest hug you can muster. _

_You sit like that. For a long time. But it doesn't have to be forever. _

_Because you'll have the strength. One day._

_You have the time._

_You have all of it._


End file.
